Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1887-03-02
HANGING OF MRS. DRUSE.
She Makes q Full COnfessi0n-Her
Daughter Innocent burning of
the Lone Star, Etc.
WOMAN HUNG.
Mrs. Druse, at Herkimer. Pays the Pen
aI%v NJ %1,> Crlv,o NJ NEvrdnr

Mrs. Druse, at Herkimer. Pays the Pen
atty Of tho Crime Of Murder.
HERKIMER, New York, February 2S.-
Roxalana Druse. who murdered her hus-
band, George Druse, in December, 1884,
was hanged for the crime at noon to-day.
After services, last evening, Mrs. Druse
remained up till 11:3O. The Deputy
Sheriff, with Mr.. and Mrs. Waterman, the
death watch, induced her to lie down, and
she had about four hours quietsleep. She
awakened with q start and upon aris ng
began to write letters as calmly as she had
| at any time during her incarcers tion. In
one of these she thanked the Sheriff for his
kindness to her, and asked that her body
might be given to her pastor for Christian
burial. After writing she laid down again
and fell into q doze. She was attacked
with hysteria in violent form, and it
required considerable effort upon the part
of the watchers to arouse and calm
her. During the night she ate one
of the heartiest meals che had eaten since
she was prisoner. She had about two
hours rest after 4 q. NJ. but did not sleep
soundly at any time. One Of her first Wis
itors this morning was Superintendent
Irving Terry, of the Onondaga peniten-
tiary, who brought q farewell from her
daughter, Mary, who is a life prisoner.
This visit had most exciting effect upon
Mrs. Druse. Rev. d. Powell visited Mrs.
Druse ABOUT 9 o'clock and did all in his
power to calm her and prepare her for the
awful moment. Every roaG leading into
the town was dotted with sleighs, crowded
with fur-coated men and not q few women.
The crowd in the village increased on the
q uo1 0f in In nf kho
extreme cold, men. women and children
stood about the streets surrounding the
Jail. The execution was witnessed by
twenty-five persons, including officers.
Yesterday morning Mrs. Druse made a
confession to DR.. Powell, her spiritual ad
visor, in which she declared that Charles
Gates had instigated her to commit the
murder, and says that he provided her
with the revolver. She declared that after
she fired the first shot Gates fired three
succeeding shots from the window. She
confessed to having cut up her husbands
body. and that Gates took the body away
and burned it. She related that she killed |
Druse because he had treated her so cruelty |
and brutally.
At 11:42 Mrs. Druse ard DR.. Powell |
knelt on the floor OF the scaffoli under the |
rope. Mrs. Druse held her daughters bou- !
quet in her hand and closed her eyes while |
DR.. Powell offered prayer. She was dressed |
in black cashmere with lace on the neck |
and sleeves. She wore a small shawl over |
her shoulder. She maintained her eompo- |
sure on the scaffold until the cap was |
drawn over her face, when she began to |
that she could be heard in the street ad- |
joining. The trap was sprung. and after |
she fell she made but one convulsive move. |
ment.
Just before going to the ecaffold Mrs. |
Druse made an affidavit, declaring that |
her daughter Mary, now confined in the |
Onondaga penitentiary, had nothing to do |
with thn killing OF her father.
Th. Iona Star Burns.
New YORK, Februory 2S.-Two lighters, |
filed with cotton, and the steamer Lone
Star, OF the Morgan Steamship Line |
burned at the foot OF Courtland street, at |
the mouth of the river. The steamers and |
lighters were towed into the middle OF the !
stream to save other shipping near by. 1t
is reported that one man was burned to !
death on the steamer. Several other sail |
ors jumped into the river to save them |
selves. The Lone Star is the steamer
which ran into and sank the British |
steamer Wells City few weeks ago. The |
Lone Star was damaged about $1,000
worth, and was beached on the Jersey |
shore. The loss on the pier was about
of cotton stored there. Seine Of this was |
saved. The loss on cotton was about |
$15O,OoO.
In all $500 bales of cotton were de- |
stroyed, worth $16O, 900. Three thousand
bales of this was cotton destined for ex- |
portation, and insured by shippers. Six
lighters in all were fired, and all were prac- |
tically DESTROYED before the flames were ex-
tinguished. The Lone Star had no steam
up, and was unable to save herself. When
towed out she was ablaze from stem to
stern, at the charred pier she broke loose
from the tugs, and, driven by strong
shoreward wind. drifted back. She struck. |
the end of the Guion pier, just north OF the
Morgan dock, and stuck there; only for
few moments, but they were moments OF
gravest danger. The Guion pier, with its
extensive steps we're piled high with freight.
The steamship Alaska was loading along
side, and it was threatened with the fate OF
it's neighbor. Prompt action averted
damage. They dragged the Lone Star
away. The New York, OF the
Morgan line, which had been lying on
the north side of the burning pier to the
had not commenced unloading. She was
not touched by the fire. The Stonington
pier, ON the south of the Morgan line, was
danger. The steamer Stonington was
towed out into the stream and saved. The
pier was occupied by the Morgan Line, and
was owned by citizen. It was totally de-
stroyed. Loss, $4,000. 1t is known
that watchman called big Harry" wasin
on the lighter Lorena when it caught fire.
He has not been seen since. There are
many theories as to the origin of the fire.
It is believed that the watchman' s pipe was
the cause. 1t is estimated that the total
loss is $32O,OO0.